


Trust in the Dark

by timetravellingmarauder (OkayButVoltron)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Shiro has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro has nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 02:13:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7599397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OkayButVoltron/pseuds/timetravellingmarauder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on a Scenario I saw on Tumblr that I wanted to try out. Basically Shiro has a nightmare and is woken up by the reader. Hopefully there is some fluff. Maybe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> References made to Shiro's possible past torture at the hands of the Galra and Druids, as well as possible PTSD.

Your eyes snap open. Looking at the at the clock illuminating the room you notice that there are still hours before you usually wake up. Confused, you take in the room. Something must have woken you but there are no strange noises or lights. It’s quiet and peaceful. You continue to lay on your side for a moment until you realise there’s none of the usual gentle breathing or murmuring from Shiro. Rolling over you see him laying as stiff as a board on his back, his face twisted in a grimace. His arms are straight at his side, grasping tightly at the sheets, his cybernetic arm gently pulsing a faint pink colour.

You’ve seen this before. Shiro, normally a sweet if slightly noisy sleeper, only looks like this when he’s having the worst of his nightmares. The ones he pretends not to have, the ones he can’t remember when he wakes up, the ones he probably doesn’t want to remember. All he ever knows upon waking is that they’re from his time being a lab rat for the Druids while a Galra prisoner. 

You watch his arm pulse in the near darkness of the room and know you have to wake him up, even if it often isn’t a pleasant task. You climb out of bed without disturbing him and stand beside the bed out of reach.

“Shiro” you say softly, but he doesn’t react except to continue clenching and unclenching his hands. Louder this time, “Shiro, wake up. You’re dreaming.” A jerky movement of his head is all you get in response. “Shiro! Wake up!”

Shiro’s eyes snap open and he rolls swiftly off the bed into a crouch on the floor. His arm is outstretched at his side, lit up like the weapon it was made to be. You can see the panic in his eyes as they dart around the room trying to take everything in.

“Shiro, it’s alright. You were dreaming.” His eyes move to your face, wide and searching. “It’s alright Shiro, you’re safe,” you try.

He slowly seems to calm as his eyes shrink to their normal size. He lowers the metal arm and it powers down. As he stands up his gaze drops to the floor. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I didn’t mean to wake you. Did I hurt you?”

“It’s fine, Shiro, of course you didn’t hurt me.”

Shiro looks disdainfully at the metal arm. Clenching his fist, he draws the arm up to his chest and turns away from you, his posture tense. “I can’t trust myself. I don’t know what this thing is capable of. I could really hurt you with it. I can’t control it when I’m like this.”

You climb back onto the bed and move slowly to Shiro’s side. Reaching up you lay your hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” you start, but Shiro tries to turn and pull his arm away, to put himself between you and the weapon by his side. You grab onto his shoulder and instead turn him towards you. “Shiro, I know you wouldn’t hurt me.” You let your hand slide slowly down his arm until it runs against the cool metal. Shiro watches your hand make its descent, his gaze growing more weary the further down the limb you get. You hold his hand gently.

“I know _I_ wouldn’t hurt you,” Shiro says quietly, his eyes trained on your intertwined hands, “I just can’t say the same for this.”

You smile sadly and tug on his hand urging him back into bed. The two of you lay back down, never letting go of one another's hands. Shiro continues to lay stiffly, the amount of effort he’s putting into not jostling the metal arm is palpable so you bring the hand up to your lips. He looks at you in surprise. “Shiro, I know you’re scared and confused. I know you still don’t know what happened to you when you were a prisoner of the Galra. I know you’re torn between wanting to find out what happened and wanting to forget and put it all behind you. And I know you’re terrified of hurting me or the others. But I also know that you never could. Your whole life is centred around helping and protecting people. I don’t care what they did to you because no one can change such an innate part of you. No one could make you hurt someone you love, no matter how long they played around in your mind and no matter how many cybernetic arms they gave you. You’re Shiro! Literal Defender of the Universe! I love you, and I trust you. You won’t ever hurt me because you’re simply not able to.”

Shiro lets out a shuddering sigh and looks you in the eye for a moment, then rolls onto his side away from you, his metal arm dragging yours with him until it wraps around him. Your tangled hands are pressed against his chest and you curl up to him, your forehead resting against the back of his neck. “I love you too,” he says, “but that doesn’t mean that I trust myself, or that I think you should trust me.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not the boss of me, then, isn’t it?” you state playfully. 

Shiro just chuckles quietly and shakes his head. “I guess so.”

You press a kiss to the back of his neck, and hold him close. Eventually you feel him slip back to sleep, this time more relaxed and peaceful. Finally, you allow yourself to go back under as well. “Goodnight, Shiro,” you whisper softly.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first fic in literally YEARS, so please let me know if there are more tags/warnings I should add. Also, any other advice is welcome!
> 
> Find my on Tumblr at timetravellingmarauder.tumblr.com


End file.
